15 DEGREESBY ALIZA

A Note from AlizaI was a bit pressed for time with this layout. To help move things along quickly, I picked out a few papers with muted colors, and just layered them with my photo right in the center. It’s one of my go to techniques.

A Note from JennyIn the autumn, I always see lots of lists online sharing what people love about fall. They never reflect me, so I decided to make my own list. I used an old photo of myself in the fall.

SIGNS OF FALLBY DEE

A Note from DeeThis layout showcases a list of what is quintessential fall to me: cinnamon, pumpkin, wind & rain, falling leafs, strolls in the woods! The picture is of course taken during fall: after cycling home from work in the rain; typical fall!

October Fun FactAfter enjoying a long and adventurous summer I’m definitely loving that fall is here: cozy nights at home, candles, a big mug filled with tea, chai or hot chocolate, a good book! Here’s to cocooning!

As you can see, today I am sharing vacation albums that break the mold from what I usually do.

First, every year I ask my family what their five favorite things from vacation were and put them in an album. Here is one from a few years back:

This mini album usually tides me over until I have time to scrap the full album, but I don't see why you couldn't use this to represent your whole vacation.

I also did something different when we didn't go on a big vacation and instead camped for a week, the same vacation as the mini album above. That year I did a pocket page 6x8 album. Here are some pages:

I used October Afternoon's Daily Flash and Pebbles' Great Outdoors Project Life Cards for the most part.

This completes my vacation week! I hope I shared something this week that inspired you to scrapbook. If so, please share what you did!

September 08, 2016

Today is the fourth day I am sharing my process for making a vacation album. Here's the schedule for the week:

Monday: Memorabilia and journaling

Tuesday: Organizing the album

Wednesday: Selection photos

Thursday: Layouts

Friday: Alternate albums

Today I share how I go from photos to finished layouts. First, I make my vacation albums 8.5x11, and I generally use the same design on every page:

When I printed photos for each layout, I printed 2-3 4x6 photos for the title page and journaling (keeping in mind I would have to physically trim them to make them fit) and I printed the full page collage on an 8.5x11 inch print with some white space for a border.

As for products, I tend to select just one line for the album, so I buy it, plus some extra papers and embellishments that I really like and store it with my ephemera. Then, when I am ready to make the album, I don't have to search for products. My vacation album from Disney in 2010 used October Afternoon's Boarding Pass:

You can see from my pages that I tend to house the whole page on alternating shades of cardstock and I use strips of patterned paper and clusters of embellishments. Using the same design and one line keeps the album cohesive and easy to make.

And that's my process for designing the layouts! Tomorrow I will share two ways I scrapbook vacation that break the pattern.

Today I'll talk about possibly the most time-consuming, and for me least fun, part of the process: deciding which photos I'll use in the album.

I use the list I made yesterday to organize my photo selection. I'll take a chapter subject--the road out, for example--then look through PSE and open all the photos I like and that tell the story in PSE Editor. Next, I'll select the 2-3 best photos and crop them to 4x6; these I'll use on the same page as the title and journaling. Of the rest, I'll narrow it down to the best photos and the ones that tell the story best. Once I do, I will make a multi photo collage on an 8.5x11 inch base to take up an entire page. Here's a video:

Though I take notes during the vacation day by day, I don't create an album organized by days. Instead, I open up my vacation photos in PSE and browse through them to see what I took photos of:

(Note: I do not tag any photos when I import them. I probably should, but I generally remember the year and month things happened, so I just scroll until I find those pictures. It may be a little more time consuming, but doing this sometimes helps me discover long-buried stories along the way, which makes me happy).

Once I find the photos, I scroll through them, taking notes of themes that I can turn into layouts. For example, in my camping albums, I often have a page about our campsite, plus ones of various hikes we went on, locations we visited, and any water activities we did. Here's how I have tentatively organized the vacation album I'm working on for Glacier/Spokane:

Title page and contents (I always put a family photo on this page)

The road out

St. Mary's Campground

Hike with Mel and Dean (this title will change; I have to look in my journaling for the name of the trail)

Waterfalls (this will probably be a four-page layout because of the number of pictures and the depth of the story)

Logan Pass

Fish Creek Campground

Bowman Lake backcountry camping (this too will be four pages)

Polebridge (not sure this will be a spread, but it was memorable, so I have a placeholder)

Mel's house

Spokane (this might be 4 pages)

Dean's house

Looking back (on the last page I usually put a couple favorite photos, often taken from behind, with a quotation that seems to capture the vacation)

Now that I have decided the subject for each layout, I am ready to start selecting photos for each layout. I'll share my process for that tomorrow!

September 05, 2016

Hello! It's Jennifer Larson. Since the monthly theme is vacationers, I wanted to share my process for creating a vacation album. I've shared my vacation albums before, but I am looking at it more fully from the beginning of the planning stages this time, and I've started trying something new that I'd like to share later this week. Here's the plan for the week:

Monday: Memorabilia and journaling

Tuesday: Organizing the album

Wednesday: Selection photos

Thursday: Layouts

Friday: Alternate albums

When I go on vacation, I usually keep a shopping bag in the car tucked under a front seat for memorabilia and ephemera: postcards, maps, stickers, etc. When I get home, I put them in a Craft Keeper or Iris container until I'm ready to make the album. Here's one I am working on right now from 2013, our trip to Glacier National Park and Spokane:

And the one I started for this year's vacation to Maine:

After I select the album I will use to scrap the vacation, I glue an envelope into the back of the album, cutting the flap off before I do. Then I cull the memorabilia/ephemera, keeping only the ones that accompany the story best, and I put them in the envelope, sort of as a last chapter for the vacation. Here's what I did for Glacier/Spokane:

While vacationing, I usually take a small notebook and write lists of memorable details that happen every day. When we return home, I tear out the pages and put them in the Craft Keeper with the ephemera. When I'm ready to make the layouts, I use these lists to recreate the vacation, even if I make the album years later. I'll discuss this more on Thursday.

That's it for today! Tomorrow I'll be back to share my process for organizing the album.

April 18, 2016

Hello! It's Jennifer Larson with a quick challenge for you: Make a project that uses lettering as a dramatic or design focus. I'll be back later this week with some inspiration and a project! I hope you play along.

April 01, 2016

It's April and we are celebrating all things funny this month. Our gallery this month is No Foolin' and it is sure to make you giggle. If you would like to see the layouts and read the journaling, please hop on over to our gallery! Enjoy!